Saugerties man charged after bulldozer falls off trailer

TOWN OF KINGSTON, N.Y. -- A Saugerties man charged last week in New Jersey for allegedly trying to sell $8-a-gallon gasoline was cited Tuesday afternoon following an accident in which a bulldozer he was moving fell off the transport vehicle onto state Route 28, blocking eastbound traffic.

Ulster County sheriff's deputies said Richard J. Rothe, 41, of 1358 state Route 212 was issued traffic tickets for unlicensed driving, unregistered trailer and bald trailer tires following a 3:15 p.m. accident involving a 2007 Mack dump truck he was operating to tow a flatbed trailer carrying a bulldozer on Route 28.

Deputies said their investigation determined that Rothe's dump truck was making a right turn off state Route 28A onto Route 28 when the chains holding the bulldozer on the trailer came undone.

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They said the bulldozer tipped off the trailer and landed on the guardrail and in the roadway.

Deputies said Route 28 was closed to eastbound traffic for almost one and a half hours while Bryant's Towing lifted the bulldozer back onto the trailer. They said there were no injuries in the incident, but Rothe was issued the tickets to appear in Kingston Town Court at a later date.

Tuesday's incident added to recent problems for Rothe. On Nov. 3, Mahway, N.J., police said they charged Rothe and Andrew Eberhardt, 22, of West Shokan, with town ordinance violations for soliciting without a permit within the township of Mahwah after the two tried to sell gasoline for $8 a gallon.

Police said Rothe was additionally served with traffic summonses to appear in Mahwah Municipal Court for not having a valid driver's license in his possession, operating a vehicle with an unsecured load, operating an unsafe vehicle and careless driving.

On Wednesday, Rothe said last week's gasoline incident "was so, so sensitive, like a tinderbox."

He said he was transporting the gasoline to assist a New Jersey friend of Eberhardt, who had damage from Superstorm Sandy and needed the fuel to remove trees from his property.

In an unpublished letter to the Freeman, Rothe said, "When we arrived at the job site, we were unable to off load the tank due to an equipment malfunction. ... We began our trip home and stopped in Mahwah for something to drink and to use the restrooms."

Rothe continued in the letter, "We could not enter the gas station because of the long lines so we parked in a hotel directly adjacent to the gas station. As I exited the vehicle one of the cars in line for gas yelled to me, "Hey how much for the gas?" I jokingly said $8 a gallon. I had no intention of selling gas and had no way of dispensing it, anyway."

Rothe on Wednesday said he tried to explain the situation to New Jersey police, but "their mind was already made up. They didn't want to hear it." He said his New Jersey court date this week has been postponed until Jan. 22.